Clippers sign Nicolas Batum from the Hornets

Nicolas Batum (Google Images)

According to CBS Sports on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers have signed swingman Nicolas Batum of Lisieux, France to a one-year contract worth $2.6 million. The Clippers become the third National Basketball Association team that Batum has played for as he was previously with the Portland Trail Blazers for seven seasons, and then the Charlotte Hornets for five seasons.

In 2020-21, Batum was in the final year of a five-year, $120 million contract with the Hornets that he signed on July 7, 2016. However, the 6’9″, 230 pounder was put on waivers by the Hornets on November 29. He subsequently cleared waivers before signing with Los Angeles.

There is no doubt Batum did not meet expectations in Charlotte. The Hornets clearly overpaid a player who only had three starts and was averaging only 3.6 points per game. In fact, Batum was making $5 million more last year than the Hornets’ second-highest player, Terry Rozier.

Batum was also dealing with an injury at the beginning of his season. He broke a finger in the Hornets’ 126-125 win over the Chicago Bulls on November 23, 2019, and would miss 11 games. Batum resumed to the Hornets and played in 21 of the next 34 games. However, after starting in the Hornets’ regular season game against the Milwaukee Bucks in Batum’s home country of France on January 24, (Batum only had five points in 33 minutes in a 116-103 loss), Batum missed the last 19 Hornets games of the season, either due to illness, or a coach’s decision.

It was clear that Batum was not in the plans of Hornets head coach James Borrego. Now Tyronn Lue will have to figure out where Batum fits into the Clippers lineup. Right now Batum is slated to play behind Marcus Morris Sr. at power forward.

For eight of nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, Batum averaged in double figures in points per game, with a career-high 15.1 points per game with the Hornets in 2016-17. It is unrealistic for the Clippers to expect that kind of production from Batum coming off the bench, but it is fair to say more is expected than 3.6 points per game.

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